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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902000">Deal with the Devil</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/11RedGoblin11/pseuds/11RedGoblin11'>11RedGoblin11</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown &amp; King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Beej is a perv, Clones, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Family Feels, Fluff, Humor, Mafia!beej, Mentions of drugs, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Murder, Rating May Change, Usual Mafia Stuff, Violence, gender neutral reader, will tag as i update</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 06:16:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/11RedGoblin11/pseuds/11RedGoblin11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You decided to con one of the most notorious mafia families known to man and they intend to make you pay.</p><p>One way or another...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)/Reader, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Rabbit In Your Headlights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You never thought you’d be dumb enough to end up in the boot of car, but here you were.</p><p>It wasn’t enough that your  partners had double crossed you, left you to rot without a single dime to your name, they were also giving you over to the fucker they all tried to dupe, they were trying to get back into the ‘families’ good books. Fucking idiots.</p><p>But that’s what you get for working with amateurs. You closed in your eyes, cringing at your own stupidity.</p><p>All you could do was lay there; Beaten, bruised and pissed off. All you hoped for was a quick death, asking for it to be painless was pointless.</p><p>The car began to slowly roll to a stop, then the car door slammed shut, followed by footsteps. The boot opened, unleashing the pouring rain upon you, soaking what little clothes you had on.</p><p>“Wake up sleeping beauty, you’ll have plenty of time to sleep under a speed bump” your ex-partner in crime chirpily remarked. He donned a black fedora which covered most of his face and a grey trench coat. You wanted to snap back at him, ‘cept your mouth was gagged from the last time you tried to be funny, it was also why you sported a busted lip and a black eye.</p><p>The prick grabbed you by the scruff of your soaked top and dragged you from the car. You looked around trying to find an exit or something but couldn’t make out anything due to the onslaught of rain. </p><p>He pushed you forwards, causing you to stumbled and nearly fall face first into the muddy ground. You paused to look at your captor watching as he waved you forward, as his other hand pointed a gun to you.</p><p>“Try anything funny and I’ll make you regret it” he said, emphasising the statement by switching off the safety with a click. You stared daggers into him for a few moments then begrudgingly face forward, staring blindly into the unknown. </p><p>In some way, you find the entire situation laughable. You were once a normal law abiding citizen, who’s only crime was pirating movies and music. Now you were a criminal, with a gun pointed to your head, for crimes you would’ve never imagined you’d have ever conceived of committing all those years ago.</p><p>No point thinking about the past now, you thought to yourself as you drudge through the rain. Halting sharply as the gunman commanded you.</p><p>Then Proceeded to throw you to the ground, collapsed into a heap on the floor face first. Mixture of mud and dirty rainwater covered your bloody clothes.</p><p>All you could do was lay there, breathing through gritted teeth. </p><p>That’s when you heard a pair of footsteps walking towards you. You tried to push yourself up into a kneeling position, manoeuvring so as to face the unknown figure, but was met with a heel to the back of the head. Which promptly squished the side of your face further into the mud, you wildly kicked behind you, trying (and failing) to hit your captor, but he simple pushed you further into the earth. </p><p>If you got out of this alive, you swore that you would make the bastard pay. Your eyes shining with unbridled fury.</p><p>Then you noticed the footsteps had stopped, and that the rain no longer hit your face. </p><p>You looked up and the first thing you saw was black and white pinstriped trousers. </p><p>You gulped at the sight and closed your eyes for a brief moment, some stupid part of you still doubted it would actually be him. So you raised your eyes further. </p><p>Thats when you saw the ring. The ring that belonged to only one man. Lawrence Beetlejuice Shoggoth.</p><p>The golden ring bore a worm with black and white strips made out of freshwater pearls and a pair of rubies for its eyes, as well as his signature beetle which was made entirely out of the finest black diamond known to existence. Or so you heard.</p><p>You swallowed at the sight of it, not daring  to raise your gaze further. You watched as the large hand, which the ring sat upon, gripped the cane; the rings which littered his fingers clinked against the wood at the change in grip.</p><p>Then the cane come crashing down in front of your face, just a few centimetres from your eyes. Ripping your focus from the hand.</p><p>“So this is them” Beetlejuice remarked, gesturing at you “This is the brains behind the whole thing, thinking that it would be a great idea to steal from me and then have the balls to sell it back to my people” he emphasised his words by shoving the cane into your cheek.</p><p>You responded with a pained grunt, the taste of copper more prevalent than it was before. Your former captor has taken the wise choice to step back as Beetlejuice step closer.</p><p>He slowly began to crouch down towards you, his pinstriped pants creasing above his shoes “If I’m being entirely honest, touts, I want to thank you” He said calmly.</p><p>You only frowned at the statement. Confusion plastered all over your face.</p><p>“If it wasn’t for you” he said, as he grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled your head back, looking you dead in the eyes “I would still be trusting this scumbag” as a clone pierced your ex-partner’s neck. His crimson red and amber eyes never left yours. Even as the ‘scumbag’ in question chocked on his own blood, twitching as the life in his body slowly faded. </p><p>In that small moment, the world around you felt so distant, time slowed as you stared into those cool eyes. He simply smirked as your frown only hardened at the unexpected events.</p><p>And for a brief moment, you could’ve sworn you saw a swirl of magenta in those hauntingly almost beastly eyes, then in a blink, he dropped you. </p><p>Causing you to land awkwardly on your shoulder, crashing back into reality.</p><p>You were starting to get sick of being thrown around like a rag doll.</p><p>You glanced briefly behind you to see the man who double-crossed you, not even sparing him a modicum of sympathy as the a pool of blood slowly formed around him. </p><p>Then a pair of hands from behind manhandled you by your shoulder and stood you up on your unsteady feet. You looked at the owner... only to find Beetlejuice.</p><p>Which was weird because you could’ve sworn that he was... you looked towards the spot we’re Beetlejuice was before he teleported to the other side, only to find him there again. </p><p>How hard did he hit me? </p><p>You blinked a few times looking from either one, both looking the exact same. Your frown only deepening as you saw a third one, this one had been holding the umbrella the entire time, presumably. The only difference was that this Beetlejuice had purple hair and eyes, unlike the other two whose hair and eyes were a mixture of amber and red.</p><p>The three Beetlejuice’s’ simple smiled in response. What the hell is going on? You questioned internally, and were shocked when you received an answer.</p><p>“These fine gents here are my clones” the one with the cane said. You snapped your head towards him, eyes going wide in panic.</p><p>What the fuck?</p><p>The man tutted and wagged a finger at you in response “language, hon” he said as he stepped forward. His red hair slowly turning green, from root to tip.</p><p>“You and me have a lot to discuss” he pressed forward, trapping you between him and his ‘clone’. You were thrown for a moment by the confusion and the proximity of the two but that soon faded and you held his stare, not backing down from the domineering mobster. </p><p>Regardless of what he intended, you were planning on making as much trouble for Beetlejuice as humanly possible.</p><p>And, oh boy, would you deliver.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Joker And The Thief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The sound of duct tape being ripped off skin bounced in the tiny confines of the plush limo. As well as the hiss that came from your mouth as your skin screamed at the friction. They could’ve said something before ripping it off.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were all situated in the limousine. The two clones, or what you assumed were the clones, sat on either side of you -between you and what you assumed to be the man himself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Although, you doubted he was just a mere man.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You narrowed your eyes at the clone to your left, the one which still retained the crimson streaks and who had ripped the tape off your face without warning, rubbing your sore lips.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He smirked at you, reclined against the leather seat then turned his attention to Beetlejuice.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was situated at the very back, cloaked by blackout windows and far away from the dim lights of the interior. The spark from his lighter gave the briefest outlines of his and then a small flame that appeared after the second strike casted him in an ominous glow. His eyes never leaving you even as he light the cigar between his slightly yellowed teeth.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You held his gaze. Refusing to back down to this silent stand-off.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your probably wondering why I haven’t killed you yet, right?” He questioned nonchalantly, not really looking for an answer.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I haven’t killed you yet babes, and I emphasise the ‘yet’ - because I will without hesitation” he paused, then continued “but I won’t, unless you give me a reason too”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The tendrils of smoke from his dying embers creeped towards you, wrapping around you like the coils of a snake before it strikes.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He leaned forwards, head tilted to the side, lacing the tips of his hands together as he continued.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I could use someone with your...” he looked towards the window and waved his hand, the word on the tip of his tongue. “...expertise”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That perked your interest. There’re a shitton of thief’s out there who were much better at this then you, of whom were a lot less hassle. Not that you would say that out loud, but then again he could read your thoughts...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked him dead in the eyes as he gave you the toothiest shit eating grin.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The reason I’m picking you is because you’ve already done the hard part; you’ve found the holes in my organisation, targeted them and managed to get away with it... for a while” He took another long drag and then exhaled a thick puff of white smoke, blowing it right at you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So you would have no problem finding another route or individuals with a similar mindset and...” pointing a long black claw at you, all humour gone from his voice in an instance, “you owe me” The dimmed interior lights began to flicker.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“From the moment you stepped into my circle, you bore my fucking name, regardless of who or what you are!” His hair bloomed crimson and you pushed back into your sit slightly.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“And when you took <b>my</b></span> <span class="s1">cocaine and had the audacity to sell it back to <b>my</b></span> <span class="s1">men and my enemies. YOU. MADE. ME. LOOK. LIKE. A. FOOL” He practically roared, causing you and everyone else to jump.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His once calm demeanour had completely gone. Morphed into one of rage causing him to slowly revert into something inhuman, his already pale skin began to rot, moss appearing from out of nowhere. His lips peeled back to reveal yellowed and decayed razor sharp teeth. It seemed his own shadows moved and wriggled behind him like tentacles. Your heart hammered in your chest at the sight, prompting you to grip your legs so hard the knuckles turned white.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“So from now on</span> <span class="s2">, I own you</span> <span class="s1">. </span> <span class="s2">Body and soul. In this life and the next</span> <span class="s1">” His gravelly voice deepened in pitch and became more demonic with each sentence.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then it was over.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The lights stopped flicking and Beetlejuice returned to how you first meet him earlier that night.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You blinked for a few moments, wondering if what you just witnessed actually happened. You looked to the others who seemed just as bewildered as you. Which at first made you feel a bit better but then that feeling slowly sank into a sense of dread because they were just as scared as you. Shit.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Beetlejuice laid his head back and rubbed his eyes, then pushed his hand through his hair. It was almost like his hand pushed the red out from root to tip, replacing it with a dull pastel green. Sighing as he straightened himself, before he continued, in his normal gravelly voice.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Think of this as a second chance- a way to redeem yourself to me. Prove to me that you deserve to live for however many years you have left and I’ll make sure you can rest once you go to the other side, in one piece” and then quickly added “Or intact for the most part”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well now that’s settled...” Beetlejuice said whilst rubbing his hands together, leaning forward to pull out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, “...I think you and I need a drink”.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You eyes widened but made no comment at the sudden change in attitude.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He poured the drinks and threw a few ice cubes for good measure, then passed the drink down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared blankly at the drink for a few moments, then raised your bound hands and eyes. He nodded, clicked his fingers and puff they were gone (shame he didn’t do that with the duct tape). You rubbed the blisters were the plastic dug into your wrists and took the glass from the clone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Here’s to new beginnings and second chances” he raised the glass, winked at you and downed it like a shot.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cringed and begrudgingly took a sip coughing as the sharp burn trickled down your throat.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were even more shocked when Beetlejuice teleported right beside you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wormed his hand around your waist and pulled you flush to his side throwing his head back and chuckling maniacally.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think this is gonna be the start to a beautiful friendship!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sup,</p><p>Again I’m sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes but hopefully the content makes up for it 😁.</p><p>Im gonna try and post every other day (or as soon as a can) and any feedback, ideas or/ and kudos are much appreciated.</p><p>I’m enjoying writing this and have enough for a few chapters. Hopefully, I haven’t written beej to ooc but if you have any advice or tips leave it in the comments.</p><p>Anywho, hope you stay safe and drink plenty of fluids.</p><p>See ya soon ✌️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Little Wicked</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sup,</p><p>Just a quick FYI that beej doesn’t appear in this chapter or the next, it’s just a bit of background and some silly bits just until we get to the ‘juicy‘ stuff. </p><p>(See what I did there 😉)</p><p>I’ll also give a note at the end of this fic with some of my thoughts and questions.</p><p>Enjoy 😘❤️❤️❤️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Standing on the sidewalk of a deserted street in the rain, you watched as the lights of the limo faded into the distance as the first glimpses of dawn slowly broke across the horizon. It all felt surreal.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had met one of the most notorious gangsters, who you had conned, and lived.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No bones were broken, no blood was shed (well not from you) and you still had some sort of freedom. Sure, you had to work for him and you didn’t know exactly what that entailed but you were alive and that was something.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You’d get yourself out of this mess just like you’d done before.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You pushed your drenched hair out of your face and shuffled to the nearest shelter, trying to wrap your head around the situation and think of your next move.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Beetlejuice had warned against trying to leave town. Not that you were gonna try too anyway, although it would’ve been nice if you could grab a few things from the hotel you were staying at before you were so rudely kidnapped. You weren’t even sure were the hell you were, glancing up and down the street. You didn’t even know if you were in the same state.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">All Beetlejuice did was give you ten bucks, told you to lay low and that he’d be in touch. You sighed, he could’ve at least given you some details or a room for the night. What an asshole.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced down at the burner phone in your hand, remembering Beetlejuice saying something about a guy named happy giving you a ring soon. You didn’t bother asking him any question, trying to stir clear of his short fuse, no point getting killed for asking a dumb question.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For now, you’d go with the flow.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Until you could come up with something a bit more concrete of course. By the looks of things he’s got the intention of bringing you in to an extent so you could use whatever you find and hey if you made a profit and managed to get out alive it was a win-win. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Hell, maybe you could retire and move to the Bahamas afterwards, you always wanted to go. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You could picture it now; you in a hammock, underneath the warm rays feeling the heat kiss your skin, watching the sun slowly sink in the horizon, the reflection of orange and pink sky on the oceans surface, listening to waves roll in whilst drinking a mojito through a shitty straw that you could wear as sunglasses, wearing one of those Hawaii shirts because deep down everyone knew they were fucking fabulousand you were the only one who had the guts and finesse to pull it off. The image ofit all made you close your eyes and sag against the cold brick wall.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was also a haven for tax evasion, so what more could a thief ask for, that thought alone turned your smile into a toothy grin.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were so lost in your daydream you didn’t even notice the car speeding down the street, until it drove through a huge puddle next to you, causing a massive splash which inevitably drenched you, yet again. Shoving you out of your stupor.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your face instantly dropped back into one of pure loathing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once this was all over you were gonna make Beetlejuice pay in more ways than one. Regardless of how crazy he was, for the most part it was just theatrics and you didn’t buy it for a second.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">All that weird shit in car was a fluke; just some weird magic or mentalist bull crap so he could hammer home how ‘big and scary’ the old, zebra printed, Al Capone wannabe was.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everything had some sort of explanation; most of the tricks were down to some fancy light effects with the hair, smoke and eyes. And those weren’t clones, they were triplets who dyed there hair, the weird voice was probably done via modulator. You couldn’t explain the teleportation but they was some sort of explanation that would make sense.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sure, the guy was dangerous and really eccentric but so were most people who did coke.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scoffed at Beetlejuices warning.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">‘</span></em>
  <em><span class="s2">I own you in this life and the next’</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jeez, the fucker practically screamed small man syndrome. So what? He’s killed people and sells narcotics, that’s the description of everyone drug dealer on the planet. Just because he was old fashioned and created this ridiculous persona of a classic mobster didn’t change that. This sure as hell ain’t your first rodeo, you could handle him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced down at the phone in your, inspecting it for any water damage, turning it over in your. Thats when you noticed the tiny bejewelled bugs on the back of the burner. That was unusual. But then again you’d seen weirder shit happen so you thought nothing of it and shoved the device in your joggers.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then you took a look at your surroundings in more detail.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It looked like your usual middle to upper class area, nice spacious houses spread around, the whole green lawns and white picket fences. You would bet some of ‘em were holiday homes, you could probably bypass the security and take shelter for a few days that way.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then one of the houses caught your eye. It was situated further back ontop of a hill over looking the area, it was pretty isolated but close enough to make out some details. The main one being that it looked like a freakin crime scene. Someone had clearly butchered what you imagined was a lovely Victorian home and decided to give it a ‘modern update’.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Who would create such an eyesore?</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then a thought struck you, bringing a small smile to your face. Yeah, auntie would definitely ’envision’ this disaster in some form or another. Then another thought hit you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">What if?</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No, auntie wouldn’t be here. That would be way too much of a coincidence.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Last time you heard from her she had moved to Connecticut and gotten hitched. But this house definitely screamed Delia.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You contemplated it for a moment. Sure it was like five in the morning but you could tell a little white lie, say you got in an accident and ended up in Connecticut yada yada yada. She’d probably be thrilled to see you and no doubt she’d go on a rant about the her new artwork or herrecent spiritual journey, which were things you didn’t really care about personal but seeing her so excited made your stone-cold criminal heart feel all mushy, so you indulge her. You loved your auntie and her weird obsession with crystals.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">And If she wasn’t there than maybe they knew her or of her because delia would most definitely have some hand in creating </span> <span class="s3"><em><strong>that</strong></em>.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But then again, did you really want to involve her?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sure, it’s not like you’d be bringing drugs back into the house or any other illegal paraphernalia that would incriminate her but in this line of work- it was guilt by association and these people didn’t care who got hurt.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scratched your head, if there was one rule you stuck to, it was always looking out for your family.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She’d been through a lot with her ex running off with his new boy toy and she went through that crazy cat lady faze. Plus, you didn’t wanna cause a rift between the couple or cause any problems for the household in general. Out of all the people you knew, which were very few, she was the most deserving of some happiness and you would hate to be the reason it all come crumbling down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You tilted your head back against the wall and rubbed your neck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It’s not like a few days would hurt and it wouldn’t be a permanent thing, just something to tide you over in the meantime and once you’d gotten established you’d find your own place and limit contact. Simple.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So you pushed yourself off the wall and into the rain, which had (thankfully) lightened a little, and made your way up to the strange house on the hill.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s4">What could possibly go wrong?</span> </strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading 😘</p><p>I hope your all enjoying it so far and sorry for the late upload gonna make up for it by uploading the next chapter soon.</p><p>And I was wondering if I could get some feedback on this chapter, was there too much on the readers thoughts? Should I break it up more in regards to different content e.g (actions, thoughts, feeling, conversation etc) I’m completely new to this so any feedback is appreciated. </p><p>Are you excited to see delia and the rest of the gang? </p><p>And does it put you off if beej isn’t in every chapter?</p><p>I also want to state that there may be some hints of spicy bits in the future not full smut or anything but things that will allude or have some sexual themes, would you guys be okay with that? And if you were interested in some full spicy bits would you be interested in one-shots of those scene, that I’ll link but it just won’t be in this work.</p><p>Please share your thoughts, any feedback is most appreciated and it just makes my day. Plus, it lets me know what you guys want.</p><p>Anywho, hope you have a great day or evening and that you drink plenty of fluids and stay safe.</p><p>😘❤️❤️❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sunrise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">“What should we do Barbara?”</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“We could pretend no ones here, maybe there’ll just go away” Barbara told her counterpart. Trying to sooth the worry in his voice.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“But what if there injured? Maybe they got in some sort of accident.” Adam questioned.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I vote for the crossbow; shoot first and ask question later”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The two adults rounded on the teenager, eyes and mouths blown wide open from the shock.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Lydia!” They scolded in unison. It was to earlier for the teens antics, not that they needed to sleep or anything- cos’ of the whole, ya know, being dead thing.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“It’s not like it would hurt, that much, it’s tips are enchanted to only hurt non-humans, remember” she countered.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Barbara blushed and looked away, scratching the back of her head at an itch everyone in the room knew didn’t exist. Regret creeping up like the tint of red on her cheeks for bringing back the gift for in the first place.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The teen smirked and then continued, “What if their a demon or some swamp monster?” She then put her hands in the pockets of her cute baggy bat onesie, swaying back and forth acting like this was a completely normal conversation.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Which, to be fair, was pretty accurate for this household.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Lydia, if they were either one of those things, why would they come up to the house?” Adam, ever the voice of reason, tried to rationalise with the teen, giving his best impression of being a stern yet caring father figure. Trying to make up for the one that wasn’t currently on the premises.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She shrugged, “Weirder crap has happened.” the teen looked out of the attic window, down at the unknown figure approaching the house.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Well, we can’t call the cops, we wouldn’t wanna bring attention to ourselves and we don’t know how long my Dad and Delia will be at there dumb couples yoga class,” She rolled her eyes and the thought, then turned Away from the window, holding her chin in contemplation “Plus, do you really want them to come back to see that thing on the porch? Remember ‘Juice-gate’?” </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The two spectres groaned, “I wish you’d stop bringing that fiasco up.” The blonde bemoaned, shivering at the thought of the needy pervert.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Lydia just giggled. “Hey, have you guys tested out the <strong>rings</strong> yet?” Turning towards the ghosts.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They both looked at one another and shook there heads, “we’ve been meaning too...” Adam started but Barbra continued “...but we just haven’t had the time”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Lydia gave them a deadpan look, “You guys are dead, you have all the time in the world”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Well, we've been helping around the house a lot lately” Barbara stated defensively, whilst Adam chimed a ‘yeah’ in the background.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“And there’ve been a lot of people around with the renovations, we wouldn’t want to arouse any suspicion or freak the neighbours” Adam continued, nodding in unison with Barbara who gave a more confident ‘yeah’.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Lydia leaned against the shelf full of random bits and bobs from the two, crossing her arms whilst raising an eyebrow and pursed her lips at the Maitlands. Knowing full well they were just chicken.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Sure, well nows the perfect time to try,” The teen smiled slyly and turned swiftly towards the door that lead further down into the house.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“<strong>You can answer the door</strong>” Lydia could practically feel there faces drop.</span>
</p><p class="p3"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p3"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You gazed up at the house before you. Taking in the architecture of the building, the white wooden slates, the quintessential porch and the originalsteeples, especially the one at the top with the giant circular window. A moment ago you had looked up and sworn you saw a strange silhouette. At least you knew that someone was in or something, maybe there ghosts. You snorted at the thought.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then lifted a foot to place on the step before you, when the lights from inside turned on, you heard the lock turn and then the door creaking open so after.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You looked up and froze, an anxious pair of eyes staring back at you.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Hello,” the man in the green plaid shirt said, “can we help you?”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You blinked blankly at them for a moment, accessing the couple. They seemed like your average-middle-class white folk, the women donned blonde curls and a simple sundress whilst, what you assumed was her partner, wore regular chino pants with a lumberjack shirt. Not exactly the type you’d expect to live in a house like this but you taste wasn’t exactly the same as other people.</span>
</p><p class="p3">Different stroke for different blokes or was it different strokes for different folks, who cares.</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">There anxious frowns began to deepen as the silence stretched. The women, came closer to the door but avoided passing its threshold.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“We aren’t going to hurt you, if that’s what your worried about, we just want to help” she gave you a small yet sweet smile.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You mentally berated yourself, Delia clearly wasn’t here and you probably startled these people. You began to step back out into the rain, apologies for the inconvenience.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">When the women took a step forwards, a hand outstretched towards you.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You turned and watched the couple.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It seemed like everything stopped for a few short moments.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The man seemed horrified whilst the women seemed shocked, going so far as to examine her hands and look across the land from were she stood on the porch.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You looked from her to her husband in a state of confusion, watching as the man took a tentative step onto the porch, you turned around to try and so what was so spectacular to warrant such a reaction.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Watching as the sun slowly peaked upon the blocks further into the city, the sky slowly going from there early orange and pink to a softer blue. The light from the sun bounced of the outline of the city, a single beamed bounced off a tall glass structure creating a gleam which shone brightly, the light rain caused a shimmering layer on the other buildings. It was a stunning sight, picturesque even. But you thought there reaction was a little much.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was a wonderful view, so they probably haven’t been up this early to see it. Yeah that’s probably it.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You looked back to find the couple standing side by side, holding eachother in a warm embrace as they watched the sunrise with glazed eyes.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">This was the first time they had left there home since they died and they never thought they’d be able to witness this sight from there porch ever again. It brought back so many fond memories, and in a way they’d be able to make new ones of it too. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Which turned those tears and smiles into ones of hope, not ones of mourning.</span>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s2">For you, it just seemed like the pair leaned on the emotional side of things but you </span> <span class="s3">envied them regardless</span> <span class="s2">.</span></p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You envied the way he wrapped his arms around her waist, as he soothingly stroked over the ring placed upon her delicate wedding finger, or the way she leaned against his shoulder, gently sagging into his embrace. You envied, the way they swayed as he pressed soft kisses into her golden locks, how she held his forearm so tight across her abdomen as if he would ever dream of letting her go.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You could only hope to get even catch a glimpse of such a life.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It felt wrong to watch such an intimate exchange, so you casted your eyes downwards, ashamed you had even dared to set foot on the property and tried to make a swift and quite exit, so as not to disturb the reverie of calm the couple had created.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">But, just like so many things, your intent and reality never seemed to line up.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">A loud creak broke the spell and the two love birds snapped there head towards you.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Fuck, you began to apologise but it died before it reached your throat, as the couple reached out towards you and pulled you inside.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">And who were you to refuse such a warm offer.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you liked this chapter as much as I did, </p><p>I was pleasantly surprised when writing this chapter as I didn’t intend for it to be as soft as it is. But boi did it work out</p><p>It’s quite nice and I intend to have fluff and angst like this so I hope you liked it too.</p><p>Probably not what ya expected but it’s probably a sign of my randomness and things to come.</p><p>Anywho, hope you have a wonderful evening or day and that you take care of yourself 😘❤️</p><p>As always any feedback, questions, tips or thoughts are more then welcomed and I have a tumblr now so send me an ask or something is your shy. I’m always up for a chat. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</p><p>My tumblrs 11redgoblin11, haven’t posted anything yet but I will... eventually.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. An Act of Kindness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a little heads up, there’s a really really brief bit of voyeurism at the end. It’s nothing to graphic or too uncomfortable, just a one sentence alluding to it.</p><p>Enjoy 😘</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">You sat on the toilet- bewildered. The couple brought you, a complete stranger, out from the street without a second thought.</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">All the while smiling at you, giving you gentle touches of reassurance, not a shred of pity or sadness reached there eyes; only warmth and comfort.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They guided you further into there home, leading you up the stairs and down the upper hallway. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The women darted into another room and came back with a few towels and fresh baggy clothes. Then lead you into the bathroom.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“If you need anything just give us a shout” the blonde women chirped happily and swiftly closed the door behind her. Listening as the two sets of feet slowly fade.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They had just met you, taken you in and left you alone, upstairs without hesitation.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They hadn’t even asked for your name, let alone introduced themselves. No one was this nice. Leading yourself with only one possible conclusion.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They were cannibals.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Cannibals that pretended to be sweet and innocent only to lure you into a false sense of security so, when you least expect it, they’d pounce, using your remains as an appetiser for there secret society meetings that took place underground so as to arouse any suspicion as the FBI were hot on there tail...</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Or maybe they were just really naive.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You were gonna go with the latter, trying to shrug off your brief tinfoil hat moment. Exhaustion clearly causing you to not think straight.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You sagged back against the toilet, surveying the room you currently resided in.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was quite spacious, bigger than your average crappy motel room, which you had the displeasure of experiencing more times than you could count. But then again it was all part of your nomadic lifestyle.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was modern and chic. Rectangular mosaic tiles fitted the walls, donning a light blue whilst the floor were covered in reddish brown square tiles. There was a small section off to the side in the far corner, a glass barrier closed off from the rest of the open space; looking through the glass it seemed to be were the shower was; two black shower heads popped out from the ceiling and the floor within the area was covered with wooden slates. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Beside the shower were three sinks, all having there own mirror, a black industrial lamp and a wooden draw situated at each one. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You caught your reflection in the first mirror and grimaced. Your hair and face was caked in dry mud, grime had somehow formed a second skin on your flesh, made all the worse by your black eye and busted lip. You looked down at your hands to see them in a similar state, chuffed around the wrist from when you were tied up with zip ties, you rubbed them slightly trying to sooth the raw skin.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You began to feel the full extent of the past few days your muscles starting to scream from the brutality it had endured during the last few days. Getting beaten on and off for a long period of times gonna leave its mark. You tried to pop your back, needing some kinda release but that just caused your muscle to ache even more, then you shimmied out of your clothes, binning them immediately. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Most would usual dump all there clothes and jump in the shower, but you wanted to familiarise yourself with your new surroundings. Don’t want to get comfortable in a nice warm shower, only to be held a gun point butt naked in the next moment. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It made things more difficult that’s for sure.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">So you gave yourself a brief once over with a damp cloth, just to get some of the grim off your face and hands.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Satisfied, you continued with your snooping.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">On the top of the three sinks sat the latest gadgets and gizmo; from a fancy fanless hair drier to an electric razor and other toiletries. You turned around and moved to examine the black bathtub, tracing your fingers against it cool ceramic surface. Whoever these people were, they had a decent cash flow judging by the complete redecoration and the fresh smell of paint that accompanied it.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You walked back towards the shower but slowed as you passed the sinks, eyeing the draws underneath.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You really shouldn’t, they’d been kind enough to let you take shelter and freshen up but you just couldn’t help yourself. Too curious (nosy) for your own good.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You opened the first draw slowly, finding little of interest: a few fancy watches, a men’s magazine, some expensive cologne and an old-fashioned barbers kit further back that had a layer of dust.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>
    <span class="s3">He didn’t seem like the beard type but I guess it was gift from a relative or something.</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then you moved along to the second, opening the draw more with less caution this time: A ton of cosmetics lined the bottom, some crystals, spiritual jewellery and a few books about finding your ‘inner peace’ and one called ‘discovering the true you on the road to spiritual success’.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You snorted, Delia has <strong>definitely</strong> been here.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You glanced at the last sink, and was about to give up your search, doubting there’d be anything of interest. When something on the countertop caught your eye.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You picked up a bottle of black hair dye and frowned, neither of the couple had black hair. You opened the container to find that a decent amount had be used. You pulled open the draw underneath to find a macabre of objects; a wooden stick with teeth attached to it, a crystal ball that had a weird cloudy effect on the inside, a freakin Grimoire and a skull.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>
    <span class="s3">What the fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You paused for a moment, not sure what to make of your recent find, not exactly what you expected to find but maybe they going through a Wiccan phase or something.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You pushed around trying to look at the other paraphernalia in the draw. There were some hair clips, nail polish with a skull and random junk you’d often find used by a teen.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Strange, you don’t remember seeing a teenager and what kinda teen had a skull in there draw, especially in the bathroom. You looked around and found a digital clock, stating it was seven in the morning.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Figures, there were probably still in bed, typical teen underneath all the creepy shit.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Although, if you hadn’t been abducted, you’d probably be snoring your head off too. So you guessed that wasn’t saying much.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You peered further into the draw, trying to find any secret compartments, maybe you’d find a human bone.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then you saw a familiar shape, it was a bug, or beetle to be precise, stuck to the top of the draw with tape. You reached in and dislodge the bug and brought it out for examination.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was definitely the same shape but it didn’t have the same dark green tinge. For some reason, it felt less alive. Which was weird because it was just jewel of sorts, of course it wouldn’t be alive but this one didn’t have any colour to it, completely void of any light.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was odd, but maybe it was a recent craze, first it was the bees now it’s the beetles. You never understood it but what other logic was there. You placed the bug exactly as you found it and rearranged he draw to look just the same as when you first found it.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Once your curiosity was satiated you turned and made your way to the shower.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You turned the water on, sighing in relief as the scolding hot and high pressured water washed over you. The heat was doing wonders against the aches and pains you obtained in the last twenty four hours.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">If there was one thing you could never get enough of, it was high pressured water. The feeling of the water hitting your back at such a speed eased the tension in your body and felt divine against your skin. You stayed still for a moment, savouring the sensation of heat mixed with the pressure.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then began to work on getting rid of the muck across your skin, using the first bottle you found, not caring if it was shampoo or soap.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Your mind slowly drifted, and you rubbed the suds into your scalp, slowly coming back to the man who caused this to happen. <strong>Beetlejuice</strong>.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was a mixture of heating the thank the don for causing such a mess and ending up underneath this shower, but at the same time cursing him for putting you in this predicament aswell.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You could just see the smug bastard, reclining in a leather chair, whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other, laughing at the sorry state he left you in. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Probably thinking he had you pinned, no money, no way to contact anyone (because who memorises phone numbers these day), in a completely new city.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Ha, you showed him, sure you were in a strangers house that had voodoo happening going on but you had shelter, running water and clean clothes. Sure it was probably temporary but you weren’t some damsel who needed Beetlejuice.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">God, you’d known him for a few hours and he was already at the top of your shit list.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You sighed, needed to conserve what little fuel you had practically gurgling at this point. You stomached growled as a reminder. Focus. Gotta come up with a plan and find some cash.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">But, unbeknownst to you, someone was also plagued by the thoughts of another, albeit for completely different reasons.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">A familiar green bug crawled against the glass, allowing the man you loathed so deeply, to spy on you and currently- <strong>he was enjoying the view.</strong></span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sup ya beautiful people 😘❤️❤️❤️ </p><p>So I’m not entirely sure about this chapter but I think it serves it’s purpose and helps build up too things to come.</p><p>If you could give me some feedback about it or if you enjoyed it please leave a comment and if your think I should tag the voyeurism please let me know. I don’t want to isolate or make anyone feel uncomfortable.</p><p>Also, I just wanted to give a heads up that I’m going back to work (looks at the time) in less than 6 hours 🙃 and I work full-time so if I don’t respond or update as much as I have in the past couple of days, it’s probably because of that. </p><p>And I have a tumblr, that actually comes up when you search for it now but it doesn’t show my posts in the tags. So if you wanna directly message me on that or my insta (which is in the description of my tumblr) are ya best bets. Sorry for any inconvenience!</p><p>Anywho, I hope you have a wonderful day or evening and that you stay safe 😘❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</p><p>P.S sorry for any grammar, punctuation or spelling mistakes.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Your Gonna Go Far Kid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the late update,<br/>this is short but sweet and I have a note at the end updating my situation and it’s super long so sorry again. </p><p>Enjoy 😘</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">You exited the bathroom feeling as fresh as a daisy, walking slowly along the glossed wooden floor, your bare feet slapping against the cool surface.</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">When you heard a familiar tune; What Have you Done Now by Within Temptation, to be exact.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Well, that sure brought back some memories, definitely not what you expected to hear so early in the morning.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>
    <span class="s3">Guess that’s the teen. Or maybe the couples’ a dark horse.</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You slowed slightly, trying not to spook the teen. You looked up and down the hallways but found nothing, so you took your next steps with caution .</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You passed an open door along the hallway and glanced inside, the room was painted in a dark midnight blue with black, royal purple and a vivid blue similar to the wings on a blue monarch butterfly. Across the floor were tons of books spread out, some stacked, some strewn half-open whilst others were used as coasters for the many empty cups, glasses and energy drinks.There were also clothes and random empty wrappers as well as other rubbish.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Yep, definitely a teenager.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">There was also a gorgeous black vanity desk with a mirror attached, donning three large panels to cover all sides that had intricate patterns around the edges of its frame, It had multiple draws with black and white hooped handles, you squinted a swore you saw a gleaner of red but you were to far to see clearly. It was quite a remarkable piece of furniture definitely not something you’d expect a teen to possess but then again this didn’t seem like an ordinary teen.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Perfumes, makeup and pieces of paper and notebooks littered the desk haphazardly. But those were on the second shelf, there was nothing obstructing the three mirrors.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">On the left side was two large bookshelf’s reaching from floor to ceiling, stacked to the brim with books all varying in different condition, styles and textures. There were also strange artefacts like scrolls, jars with preserved animals, some very interesting looking jewellery, photos and other objects you wouldn’t usually expect in a teens bedroom.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The right side held a small alcove which housed a bed, blue curtains tide back at either end so as to close it off from the rest of the room, it also had a circular window which had a spiderweb design on spread out from the middle, it was the only thing that brought some light to this dark room. The walls were adorned with posters of heavy metal, rock and punk bands, one you noted, was of Within Temptation, a few pictures, some skulls painted with intricate designs and a ton of photos placed around the alcove.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Off to the side was a door leading to what you assumed was a closet or a ensuite bathroom, possibly both.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">They sure did splurge on this troglodytes room and that only made you wonder what other treasures were behind the closed doors, you hadn’t even ventured to the third floor or the attic.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You were about to chance a more in-depth investigation when a cough made you jump.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Snapping your head around you found the teenage. But it was more like she found you, snooping no less.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“You do know it’s rude to look into other people’s rooms, right?” The teen questioned, arms folded with one eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You rubbed the back of your neck and nodded, caught red-handed. No point in lying about it.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She gave you a look, then sighed. You both stood there awkwardly for a moment until she waved her hand gesturing you to move out of the door way. Which you did, apologising profusely.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then you tried to make the situation less awkward by saying, “Cool music by the one, Within Temptation used to be my favourite back when I was your age, sure does bring back a lot of memories” saying with a small smile. Trying to ease the tension.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She was currently wearing a hoodie that had a bat hanging upside down, with the message ‘not a morning person’, worn out joggers and held a rather large energy drink. Her short black her shaped her face and judging by the dark circles, it was probably the teens day off.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She narrowed her eyes, sizing you up, her face not giving away the teenager hide behind those brown eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then rolled her eyes, “And that was, what, 20 years ago” the teenager offered sarcastically and slammed the door with her foot, not giving you a second glance as she snorted at her own joke.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Clearly, she hadn’t drunk the energy drink yet.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You turned back towards the stairway leading down and looked to your left.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You were met with a <strong>set of four eyes instead of two.</strong></span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the lack of updates everyone,</p><p>Life’s a bit hectic at the moment and working for 7 hours a day back to back leaves ya with little time to do anything,</p><p>So I’m giving you a short chapter to make up for it 😘 but I’ll treat you to a longer one this weekend (hopefully)</p><p>I’m gonna try and upload 3-4 chapters a week and I may push more over the days I have off but no promises.</p><p>I was just wondering how you guys are coping with what’s going on?</p><p>How’s ya day been? Have ya been reading any other fics you’d recommend? Or any video games?</p><p>Did you enjoy meeting scarecrow? Are you looking forward to reuniting with auntie Delia and her new man?</p><p>Did you enjoy this chapter? I know that not much happened but I thought I’d was a nice little set up to pass the time between updates and it does have some significant. I also make sure that there’s a reason to upload a chapter so that it’s not just filler.</p><p>Do you have any questions about the story so far? What do you thinks gonna happen?</p><p>I’m just curious, and would to love your guys thoughts, plus I don’t mind having a chat here, on insta or tumblr. I’m always free to chat (When I’m not at work) and make friends 😁<br/>Anywho, I hope you guys are staying Safe, drinking plenty of water and being kind to yourself. It’s easy to lose sight of things or be disheartened by current events but we’ll get there ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</p><p>And I’m sorry for the cheesiness but I know how hard stuff is and I just want you guys to know your not alone, even when your isolating ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</p><p>Also special shout out to Slendy and LeRenarte, you guys are freakin awesome!!!! I love reading your comments. 😘❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Auntie?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Silence filled the room once you entered. You stared at the four sat around the sleek table, as they meet your gaze.</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The couple from earlier were there, situated in the middle opposite one another and a middle age man occupied the head chair; All of them were staring at you in confusion and a wariness you’d expect when a complete stranger entered your home.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Sitting next to the man on his right-hand-side was a women who seemed awfully familiar...</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Auntie?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Delia blinked at you for a moment and then her face flashed with a range of emotions; confusion first, quickly followed by recognition and then pure joy.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She shrieked and jumped out of her seat, rushing to you with open arms.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Her smile was so wide it eclipsed her eyes but a small glimmer of light caught the glassy sheen they held as she wrapped her arms around you, holding you tight.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do with the sudden display of affection.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then something clicked, causing you to raise your arms and mimic the gesture.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Oh my little niño, you’ve gotten so big I nearly didn’t recognise you.” She pulled you closer giving you a small kiss on top of your head, stroking your hair lovingly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You were surprised at her reaction. It had been many years since you’d last seen her but you didn’t think your absence would have this much of an affect. The idea that she would recognise you was a surprise too.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She held onto you longer then needed but so did you. You’d forgotten what it felt like to be wanted, let alone missed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She let you go eventually and straightened herself. Pulling at her loose fitting jumpsuit and a few crystal necklaces and bracelets, giving her a hippy, new age feel. She dabbed at her mascara, trying to rid any blemishes from the tears, mumbling about how something had gotten into her eye.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then she turned her attention to your face. Her smile dropped instantly, replaced with a frown.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Oh niño, what have you gotten yourself into now?” She sighed as she raised her hands cupping your face, pulling you in every direction to get a better look at your injuries. A black eye, a few cuts and a few scrapes as well as a busted lip.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She brushed a thumb against your blackened eye and you hissed, flinching out of her grip.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You shuffled back, rubbing your tender face. “I... got into a bit of trouble a few days ago, did something that wasn’t really smart and,” you gestured to yourself, shrugging “this is the result.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She gave you a knowing look; eyebrows raised, mouth in a displeased pout and forehead scrunched giving her lines she always tried to avoid.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">This look would often be followed by an hour long lecture about your current ‘lifestyle’ peppered with some of her renowned life coaching advice.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">But before she could start, a cough interrupted her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Delia?” The middle aged man spoke, confusion written all across his features.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“What’s going on here, dear?” He questioned, looking from Delia to you, giving you a wary appraisal.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She looked at you blankly, staring straight through you for a moment, then blinked away the haze and gave her usual charmed smile as she turned towards him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then she assumed a role she was morefamiliar with; The hostess.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She introduced you first, informing them that you were her sister’s child and that she hadn’t seen you for quite sometime due to being estranged from her sister; something she touched upon briefly but didn’t go into too much detail.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then she turned back to you, introducing her fiancé, Charles deetz, and then to the couple who let you in, Adam and Barbara Maitland. She went on to talk about them babysitting Lydia, the teen upstairs, whilst her and Charles went to there daily yoga lesson.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Which she then went on to talk about. </span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">In great length and detail.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">To be honest you were pretty distracted from your aunts rant about chakra and cleansing energy due to the awkward tension in the air and the worried glances the other three were giving you, especially from your aunts fiancé.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Delia” Charles said again, cutting your aunt off, just as she had began talking about her third eye and how she had began to open it according to her guru Otho.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“May I have a word,” glancing from you and the Maitland’s “in private.” emphasising the last phrase.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She nodded, giving you a strained smile and followed him out into the hallway. Leaving you alone with the couple.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You gave them a meek smile and they returned it, probably feeling more awkward considering the circumstances. You could hear fierce whispers from the hallway and cringed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The last thing you wanted to do was cause any upset and here you were causing your aunt grief. You rubbed your eyes, your head starting to ache from the lack of sleep and having to deal with this situation.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Mulling over what you had told your aunt, </span>you hadn’t lied exactly, you gave her a brief and simple explanation. Omission of the finer points wasn’t lying, right? </p>
<p class="p3">Anxiety gnawed at you, as Delia’s absence went from seconds to minutes. Leaving your mind to ponder all the horrible consequences of your decision that could or would happen because of you.</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You’d have half a mind to just walk out the front door when a soft voice stopped you before you could even act upon the thought.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Don’t worry about it too much” she said, offering you another warm smile. “Charles can be a bit wary of strangers, especially with recent events, but if your related to Delia then I have no doubt your a good person, who’s just having a rough time right now.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You stared at her with wide eyes and you wondered how much they actually knew about Delia. Hell, you wondered what kinda sheltered life they had to leap to such a conclusion in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Then a steaming cup of coffee was placed before you, causing you to jump.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought a cup of joe would help,” Adam said as he left your side to sit next to his wife “Caffeine always made me feel more alive in the mornings.” He joked, then cringed a moment later.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">You took a sip and nodded, choosing to watch the steam swirl out of the dark liquid. You were thankful for the warmth it provided and the words sugared ontop by the couple. It helped ease the tension, but didn’t rid it entirely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was silent for a few more moments, until the sound of thanks and kisses could be heard and Delia practically skipped back into the room.</span>
</p>
<p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“So, how long do you intend to stay at the wonderful deetz motel? Great customer service, complementary breakfast, lunch and dinner included free of charge!” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys! I’m not dead!</p>
<p>Sorry for the brief hiatus, life’s been pretty chaotic and juggling work and other adult stuff is hard 😅</p>
<p>But I’m back and I hope your excited because the real fun begins next chapter! I’ve got a ton of material for this and I don’t expect this to be over any time soon so strap in and get ready cos I’ve got a lot of things planned.</p>
<p>And again, I’m sorry for the late chapter, but I intend to make it up to ya! And I plan on uploading at least one chapter a week (fingers crossed that actually pans out lol).</p>
<p>Anywho, stay safe and keep being you boo😘❤️</p>
<p>P.s A dead man will appear in the next chapter so you have been warned....hehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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